It will be a serious setback for democracy to continue to hold and convict Iraqi journalist Muntadar al-Zaidi for throwing shoes at President George W. Bush on December 14 in Baghdad.

The only major achievement made after the fall of the Saddam regime was democracy which both Iraq and the United States greatly boast of.
The act of al-Zaidi may be interpreted as a great insult to the guest the Iraqi judicial system is facing an important test to practice democracy.
Iraqi officials should show leniency in this case. Even the U.S. should press Iraq to free al-Zaidi.
The journalist’s action was in fact out of anger over the U.S. record in Iraq. The U.S. not only invaded Iraq illegally it also did worse by mishandling the repercussions of the invasion.
Bush and his team may now boast a relative calm in Iraq but Iraqis have suffered a lot since the 2003 March invasion.
Intoxicated with early victory in Iraq the U.S. dissolved the army and shattered the backbone of the basic security system in the country and provided a golden opportunity for thugs and terrorists; in fact it created a law of jungle.
Even al-Zaidi had said he was acting for ""widows and orphans and all those killed in Iraq"".
We all remember that women who went out to buy bread for their families were butchered by terrorists, or children were soaked in their blood on their way to school, and millions were made refugees.
All this came out of an inept and wild assumption of the situation prior to the Iraq invasion.
The outburst of anger by somebody like al-Zaidi should not be considered as an odd thing. He should be released without more delay because the meager reward for so many sufferings is exercising democracy